Babysitters are child care professionals who take care of children. Depending on their role, they may spend an evening or afternoon playing, teaching or simply being with them. This guide will accumulate all the necessary insights to begin your career in babysitting.
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Job duties of a babysitter
Babysitters are occasional replacements of parents. They should be a compassionate and energetic individual that can nurture young kids. However, a babysitter should also gain the trust of parents.
These are just some of the regular duties of a babysitter:
Changing clothes and diapers of children.
Correcting children without criticizing them.
Mentoring children in learning, brushing, eating.
Teaching the importance of good health and hygiene.
Discussing the daily activity of a child with their parents.
Keeping the children’s playing area free from hazards.
Managing and disciplining records of children’s activity.
Cheering and appreciating the excellent behavior of the child.
Serving snacks, milk, drinks and food whenever needed.
Focusing on constructive ideas to discipline unruly children.
Babysitter median salaries
In 2019, according to a report published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary of an entry-level child care worker was about $25,460 per year, which makes around $11.65 per hour.
Top skills for babysitters
Babysitting is a career full of responsibilities, organization and understanding. These professionals should be compassionate and dynamic enough to handle and teach children while also gaining the parents' trust to have good interactions and set similar goals. Patience and creativity are essential qualities to help children remain focused and imaginative during their daily activities. However, to be a successful babysitter, acquiring additional skills to broaden your abilities is necessary.
- Understanding behaviors: Action and behavioral learning in children is a permanent exploration process where they will push boundaries, assert independence and test the patience of adults. Knowing the basics of child psychology is imperative in understanding how to address this behavior. An article by child psychologist Craig Murphy relates a few ways to understand the children better and create lasting interactions.
- Create diplomatic solutions: There will be times in which, as a babysitter, you will have to make tough decisions. It is crucial to rationalize situations, seek help as soon as possible and make a plan that will benefit you, the family and the children. Often, you will have to prioritize the child's well-being over preferred activities or comfortable routines.
- First-aid training: This is an essential skill that parents look for when hiring babysitters. They want assurance that if anything happens to their child, they will be well cared for. Sometimes dealing with children means encountering challenging situations where they may injure themselves while playing, try to eat inedible items or even develop a severe allergy. To be prepared for such unforeseen problems, you can participate in first aid programs provided by your local American Red Cross.
- Communication: Talking and listening are imperative for children with special needs or varying degrees of skills. Babysitters require communication abilities to converse and understand kids. You must reflect courtesy, respect and patience while making sure not to let children feel ignored. In turn, they will learn from you to listen and respect others.
- Education and tutoring knowledge: There may be times that babysitters will have to sit down with children and help them with their homework, projects, or simply understanding and developing their ideas. You should have a broad knowledge of academic classes to assist children with test preparation, grammar, proper use of vocabulary and multiple types of subjects.
- Analytical thinking: This skill set is crucial. Engineering project managers have to think fast on their feet. The ability to break complex problems into components helps them solve problems quickly and prioritize tasks.
Babysitters education and certifications
Most states do not ask for formal education aside from a high school diploma or a GED for a babysitter job. However, training in baby caring and some certifications may set your application apart from the rest.
Degree
A high school diploma is more than enough. Parents and employers will opt for candidates with formal education such as associates in Early Childhood Education such as San Jose City College.Certifications and training
Certifications are necessary because they set you apart from other candidates. Employers also prefer candidates with certifications in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to manage a choking incident or an unconscious child. Similarly, the Babysitting Certification Institute offers programs and exams to learn about experiences with child interactions and the basics of caring for children.
Getting certified as a tutor is helpful and impressive to parents and employers as it lets them know their children will continue their education at home after school. Know what stage of child care is for you and the age of the children you can work with best. The American Red Cross helps you grow into the profession with multiple trainings offered for every stage of child care and development.
Babysitter resume-writing tips
Babysitting is a dynamic profession, and you need to update your resume constantly. Moreover, never extrapolate your skills and avoid mentioning anything beyond your abilities.
You can follow these tips to design your impactful babysitting resume:
- Never underestimate your experiences: Babysitting is all about your vast and diverse backgrounds; Thus, every job requires a unique skill set. If you have taken care of different children's age groups, such as infants, special needs or extended hours and nights, make sure to add them to your resume. Remember, while mentioning your experiences, don't share any sensitive and personal information about your clients.
- Highlight your hobbies and babysitting capacity: Parents evaluate every detail of a babysitter before hiring. Therefore, during interviews, the first question they ask would be regarding your baby caring abilities. Parents will also consider your hobbies when interviewing you. They can't overlook any practice that may be detrimental to their offspring. Therefore, mention your positive habits in your resume; it also counts as a skill in the babysitting profession.
- Don't hesitate to show what you know: If you can speak an additional language fluently, mention it in the resume. Today, numerous families prefer a babysitter who masters various hard skills like singing, swimming, cooking, teaching, driving and multilingualism. Never think that hard skills are irrelevant for your sitting job application. According to the business wire, about 66% of parents pay more remuneration for a sitter with some training and knowledge of any foreign language.
- Spotlight on appreciations and references: Parents accumulate all the necessary information about the sitter from various sources. Sometimes they take the advice of other parents. Therefore, the glimpses of your work appreciations in the opening statement benefit in gaining trust. In support of that, mention the details of your satisfied clients as a reference. Beware, don't put the fabricated reference information; otherwise, it could impact your entire career.
FAQ
Is babysitting a safe career?
People are usually skeptical while choosing baby care as a career option. However, millions of people earn their living through babysitting as full-time employment. Today, parents require someone who can take care of their kids during chaotic hours. Therefore, they are ready to pay an extra amount for a responsible babysitter with additional skills, education and training. The average pay of an educated babysitter has jumped up by 26% since 2010.
Who hires a babysitter?
Primarily working parents, single mothers/fathers seek the assistance of a babysitter. However, day care schools also hire educated sitters as full or part-time employees. Business is also a safe option for experienced and educated sitters, like starting a day care house or outsourcing baby care services.